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Kowa Spotting Scope

Kinda-sorta mulling around the idea of getting a new scope before this coming deer season, especially for my NV hunt. I like the looks of the Kowa TSN-663. Anybody here used one? Opinions? Also, does anyone happen to know how big the Kowa 20-60x eyepiece lenses are? Its hard to tell from the factory photos, but I want something with a good sized "rear" lense.

I have seen the Kowa 663, and it is a pretty nice scope. Nice, flat, and bright image, with most aberrations well corrected. The eyepiece ocular diameter is in the medium size range. It is smaller than Swarovski, Zeiss, and Leica.

Thanks for the response. I looked through that scope you posted today and had a Nikon Fieldscope ED 20-60x60 to compare it to and the Nikon was much better IMO. They didn't have the Kowa but I think I may pull the trigger on that Nikon. About the large ocular, I figured since most of the higher end scopes had larger ones, that it would make for better viewing. Not necessarily true I guess after todays testing.

I have a Kowa TSN-664 and love it. It has performed great for me. While the image quality isn't quite up to the Swaro's or Leica's, it is still damn good and unnoticable in the field. IMO it is the best mid-range scope out there. I haven't had an issue with the slightly smaller ocular, field of view is plenty adequate for me. I wouldn't hesitate to buy this scope.

I recognized long ago that if I have a warehouse full of guns, but no public land or public wildlife, I have nothing!

Thanks for the response. I looked through that scope you posted today and had a Nikon Fieldscope ED 20-60x60 to compare it to and the Nikon was much better IMO. They didn't have the Kowa but I think I may pull the trigger on that Nikon. About the large ocular, I figured since most of the higher end scopes had larger ones, that it would make for better viewing. Not necessarily true I guess after todays testing.

I agree the Nikon is a great scope, and well built. I just prefer a little more eye relief and field of view. I think the Pentax is best with a fixed Pentax XW eyepiece, but you lose the flexibility of a zoom. It seems that all 60-65mm objective scopes get pretty dim when you ask them for 50x to 60x magnification.

Did you test the scopes under lower light conditions? I would think the Kowa and Pentax would have a bit of an advantage with their bigger objectives.

You might also want to look for a used Zeiss Diascope 65, as they can be found around that $1000 mark, and they are an excellent spotter, with a useful 15x-45x magnification range.

In any case, you are doing the right thing by finding what suits your eyes best.

Still trying to weigh options... but I have to drive forever and a day to test things out. How about that new scope Vortex has out, the Viper HD 15-45x65? Anyone try it yet? I just might order one from some place with a good return policy and try it out. I've never looked through Vortex anything but its hard to find anything bad thats been written about them. Seems like their pricing is at least a couple hundred bucks below comparable products by their competitors. Opinions?

I don't think Vortex Viper HD spotters have hit the street yet. Buzz is they are pretty good, but real world tests are probably a few months out. The listed specs are awesome. My spotter is the Vortex Razor HD and it is truly great in every way. Vortex is a great company that stands behind their products.

I called a few places trying to track one down and rangefinders.com's supplier had them ready to head out the door so they are going to send me one right from the supplier. Their return policy is excellent so if I don't like it I will just send it back within 30 days. I usually opt for Zeiss or Swaro but at $549 and with all the great things I keep hearing about the Vortex HD glass, I figure it's worth a try. Hopefully it gets here in time to get familiar with before deer season starts in one month and 5 days.